The Regime's Inner Workings

Reams of confidential documents reveal in vivid detail the desperation and disarray at the highest reaches of Col. Moammar Gadhafi's regime this spring as power slipped through their fingers. (More: Tripoli Files Show CIA Working With Libya.)

September 2, 2011

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The outer gate of the fallen Libyan government's intelligence headquarters in Tripoli. Reams of confidential documents were discovered in the office of Libya's spy chief and two other security agencies after the top leaders fled their desks.
Edu Bayer for The Wall Street Journal…

The exterior of the intelligence headquarters.
Edu Bayer for The Wall Street Journal…

Documents from early in the year suggest a casual dismissiveness of the rebellion. Shown, rebel fighters walked out a door at the headquarters.
Edu Bayer for The Wall Street Journal…

By late spring, however, Tripoli's intelligence chiefs were scratching their heads over intercepts of rebel phone calls that they simply couldn't decode. Shown, a damaged portion of the headquarters.
Edu Bayer for The Wall Street Journal…

The documents found expose an ossified culture within Libya's police state that proved largely incapable of switching gears to fight an actual war. Propaganda skills failed to translate into battlefield analysis, leaving soldiers furious and, in some cases, surprisingly clueless.
Edu Bayer for The Wall Street Journal…

The interior of the intelligence headquarters.
Edu Bayer for The Wall Street Journal…

Of the dozens of field reports reviewed by the Journal at Tripoli's Internal Security headquarters and intelligence headquarters, none entertained the possibility that the rebellion might have broader social support. Shown, an underground conference room.
Edu Bayer for The Wall Street Journal…

Since Col. Gadhafi took power in a military coup in 1969, he has relied on a brutal police infrastructure created in large part by his brother-in-law Abdullah Senussi to control Libya. Shown, the office of Mr. Senussi.
Edu Bayer for The Wall Street Journal…

The International Criminal Court has accused Mr. Senussi along with Col. Gadhafi and his son Seif al-Islam with war crimes for their actions during the six-month uprising. Shown, the office of Mr. Senussi's deputy.
Edu Bayer for The Wall Street Journal…

Shelves of documents at the headquarters.
Edu Bayer for The Wall Street Journal…

A stack of newspapers.
Edu Bayer for The Wall Street Journal…

Materials left on the desk of Mr. Senussi's deputy.
Edu Bayer for The Wall Street Journal…

A photograph found at the compound.
Edu Bayer for The Wall Street Journal…

A painting of the Libyan military hangs in the main entryway to Mr. Senussi's intelligence headquarters.
Edu Bayer for The Wall Street Journal…